Building Strong Relationships

Charles M. Payne, Author of So Much Reform, So Little Change, says that, “In Chicago, students attending predominantly African American schools are much less likely than students in integrated schools to be in environments where teachers trust parents (about 42 percent of teachers in predominantly African American schools report strong trust as against 72 percent of teacher in integrated schools) and less likely to be in places where teachers feel a strong sense of collective responsibility," (2011, p.101). This lack of teacher-parent trust is a huge hindrance to the teaching and learning that is happening in the classroom, so it is with the utmost diligence on my own end, that I make it a point to form strong, trusting, and collaborative relationships with parents, families, and the community to set not only my students up for success, but myself as a first year teacher-of-record.

Building and maintaining strong relationships with parents and families is critical to my success as a classroom educator. Having continual communication with parents is going to be a goal of mine from day one. Whether it is through a weekly newsletter, a quick text message, a friendly note, a phone call, or a brief chat after school, being in constant communication in good times and bad is going to be essential for building strong relationships. Trusting that my students’ parents are on my team, and treating them as such is incredibly important. As parents, they know their child better than anyone else, so I need to come to them open and willing to learn from them.

In Moll’s article, Funds of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and Families, "The typical teacher-student relationship seems ‘thin’ and ‘single-stranded,’ as the teacher ‘knows’ the students only from their performance within rather limited classroom contexts,” (2001, 134). Strong teaching and learning can’t occur in a classroom where relationships are thin and single-stranded! It is important that I am getting to know my students outside of their academic work, as individuals. Being involved in after-school activities, and being present at students’ sporting events to show them support is a great way to build relationships with them.

Also, when thinking about forming good relationships with students, I can’t help but think of Thomas Knestrict, author of Memoriesof the Other. Teachers made him feel stupid, and fleeting comments about his academic abilities have stayed with him all throughout his life. He mentioned that even still when he is at a store counter trying to add up numbers on a receipt, comments made by a teacher long ago about his lack of ability in math come back to haunt him (Knestrict, 783-784).  It is of the utmost importance that I recognize that every comment I make has the potential to change a student’s life for the better or for the worse. It is imperative that I am constantly building students up, noticing where they are struggling, and supporting them through their difficult times academically or emotionally.

One way that I have found to be beneficial when building strong relationships with those in the school and surrounding community, is to always focus on the positive aspects of a community when talking about it to others—even one that is so ridden with violence, poverty, and drugs because despite the difficulties of the community, this is where our students come from. If we focus on those negative aspects, we risk losing any progress we’ve gained. In addition, being open to spend time in the community in which I teach after school hours, attending local functions, and getting to know the local people is essential in relationship building.

As a teacher in a turnaround school where the teacher turn-over rate can be high, there may be some distrust about my intentions, where my loyalties lie, and how long  I plan to stick around. With this, could come some resistance which is only natural and to be expected. However, should I meet resistance along the way, I will continue to work to build trusting relationships by proving myself to the students, the school, and the community through my dedication, and by fulfilling my commitment to educate. By taking a proactive stance to initiate and maintain relationships  throughout the year, I will set myself up for success.

To see more on how I have worked to build relationships in my classroom, school, and neighborhood community this year, and my plans for continuing to build community next year, please see the community section of my Master's Defense Portfolio.